


The Rest is History

by LibbyWeasley



Series: The Rest Is History [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Academy Era, Back to the Future Au, F/M, FS aren’t lab partners, FS kids, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Lola is a time machine, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel, fitzsimmons family, genius kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-01-24 12:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21338509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibbyWeasley/pseuds/LibbyWeasley
Summary: On their 16th birthday Max and Evie Fitz-Simmons go back into the past to fix their present. But they accidentally prevent Fitz and Jemma from becoming lab partners in their second semester at the Academy and have to get FitzSimmons together before it permanently changes their future. Back to the Future AU.
Relationships: Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons
Series: The Rest Is History [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650196
Comments: 40
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have been sitting on this for a year because I’m a little nervous about the first chapter. There is some implied major character death...but don’t worry, it’s all temporary because time travel.
> 
> Thanks to @blancasplayground for dealing with me talking about this forever and @agentofship for the beta. They are amazing people! ❤️❤️❤️
> 
> This first chapter takes place 17 years in the “future,” after enough time has passed for FitzSimmons to have 16-year-old kids. Coulson lives, so he’s still Director (and basically immortal at this point). The rest of the story will take place in the past - 2004 when FS are supposed to become lab partners.
> 
> There are 7 planned chapters.

They had been sitting at the kitchen table when the phone rang. Mum looked at the display for a moment before picking it up and walking out of the room.

“Did you see the look on her face?” Evie asked as soon as they were alone.

“Yeah...I guess that means we won’t be having birthday cake tonight.” There was only one reason mum wouldn’t want them to hear the conversation. Knowing what was coming next, Max abandoned the work in front of him and started gathering his notes.

* * *

It figured that they would spend their 16th birthday at the base instead of at home with their family, but Max didn’t really mind that much. It was almost fitting since most of their childhood had involved SHIELD in some form or another. Some of his earliest memories were of his parents working in the lab, arguing over a design they were working on, and Aunt Daisy swooping in to entertain him and his sister while they waited. So tonight their parents were in the lab, yet again, working on something top secret for Coulson, and Evie was sitting next to him working on the control panel of the device they were building. They all had their top secret projects, after all.

“Hand me that wrench,” she said, not bothering to shift her gaze from where she was working and just silently holding her hand out, assuming he would do as she asked. He would, of course. It was one of the benefits of having a twin. They always had someone to help them with their experiments...or help laugh at their mistakes if it came to that. Max went to grab the wrench from the table where Evie had left it earlier and paused, thinking he heard footsteps. He must have imagined it, though, because everything was quiet now. 

For as long as he could remember, Coulson had always let them work here when their parents got called in to consult in the lab. Of course, now they were more than old enough to stay home alone, but they still enjoyed spending time at the base in their own lab space in the garage. The space was constructed of concrete and filled with metal shelves, but it was clean and very private. Plus, the labs here were much better stocked than the one at home so they were able to access all the supplies they needed, and they were able to work on their projects without interruption. Even so, tonight must have been very important, or their parents wouldn't have decided to make the trip to the base. Not on the twins’ birthday. Family time always came before work. That’s how it had always been, though really everyone here at the base was family.

Returning to his sister’s side, Max handed her the wrench and waited while she reattached the panel covering the controls. The shiny red metal fit almost seamlessly into place. 

“I think that should do it,” she said with a smile. The car was impressive enough without the modifications that Evie had made, but now it was something incredible. He couldn’t believe they had actually pulled it off. The calculations themselves had been a massive undertaking that had taken them years to perfect. 

“I told you we just needed one more day. And I think this is quite an accomplishment for us. Not even mum and dad were able to do something like this when they were 16.” He knew he sounded a little smug, but he couldn’t help it. He was really proud of the work they had done. “They hadn’t even met yet.” 

Evie just looked at him in amusement. 

“We do make a good team,” she agreed. “But I’m not sure it’s a fair comparison. We couldn't have done it without their research.” 

Max didn’t have a response to that, so he just stuck out his tongue at his sister. She rolled her eyes in response. 

He wasn’t sure his dad would be pleased with what they had done this time, but Coulson was their partner in crime and he was the one who had the final say about what happened at the base, so that was good enough for the twins. 

“Alright, scoot over,” Max insisted, but Evie remained in the driver’s seat and raised her eyebrows at him. 

“I designed it, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” he grumbled, and settled into the passenger seat next to her. It was true that his expertise was mostly restricted to chemistry, though in their family science was science. But she had been the one to follow in their father’s footsteps and study engineering, so technically she had designed and built this. With his help, of course.

Max started fiddling with the keypad below the digital readout. “What date should I set it for?”

“We aren’t actually going to test it,” she insisted. “It’s far too dangerous.”

“I know. But if we did?”

His sister stared at the digital readout and thought for a minute. “Well...we wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for _the most important day ever_.”

“You’re right.” Of course she was right. She was always right. She started pressing buttons while he watched. 

“So that was 2004...January 27th, right?”

“The 27th, yes.” That was a story they had heard many times. The day their parents had become friends...or at least not enemies. It was practically Fitz-Simmons family legend. SHIELD legend, even. The day that Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz had become lab partners. Without the partnership and friendship that had developed, Max and Evie wouldn’t be here. And none of the amazing things their parents had been a part of would have happened either. 

Of course they knew that included some bad things as well, but it seemed like the good far outweighed the bad, at least as far as he was concerned. There was another loud noise echoing through the hall outside that intruded on their moment of celebration. Evie looked at him in concern, but he just shrugged. There were often unexplained things happening at the base, and they had learned not to ask too many questions.

“We should go find Coulson. We should probably come clean about exactly what we’ve been working on.” Coulson had given them permission to make any modifications they wanted to, but he’d never actually asked them what they were trying to accomplish.

“Yeah, probably,” Max agreed. “I can go look for him.”

But before he could move, the door flew open, clanging against the wall, and Coulson rushed in, locking the door behind him. He appeared as he always did, calm and collected, but Max could tell right away that something was wrong. Mostly because Coulson had turned to face the door with a weapon extended in front of him. And it didn’t look like an ICER. Turning his head slightly, Coulson said in a firm voice, “You two need to get out of sight. The base has been breached. There were...shots fired.”

He turned back to focus his attention on the door and Max and Evie looked at each other. Max was certain the panicked look he saw on his sister’s face was a mirror of his own. Reaching for Evie’s hand, he said, “We are going to be okay.”

“It isn’t us I’m worried about.” But she gave his hand a squeeze anyway. He was glad they were in this together, like they always were. It was comforting to know that Aunt Daisy was out there protecting them, as well as the other SHIELD agents. And apparently mum and dad weren’t too bad in a fight either, though he'd take Coulson as his private bodyguard any day. Even though Coulson hadn’t been out in the field in years and kept tabs on the field teams from the base, he exuded confidence. They would be fine as long as Coulson was there. But even that thought wasn’t enough to keep Max from shaking. He preferred the safety of the lab to whatever it was the agents did in the field. While he enjoyed their endless resources, joining SHIELD wasn’t something he ever wanted to do.

The sounds outside the room got louder and the communication device in Coulson’s hand crackled as voices called out. “Agents down. I repeat, agents down in the research lab.” 

Evie started crying and Max thought there were tears in his eyes as well. Their parents were out there. 

“It can’t be them,” he said, choking on the words. Evie silently shook her head and pulled her knees up to her chest. 

The noises on the other side of the door got louder and then there was a relentless pounding as the door was forced open. The sound echoed through Max’s head and he squeezed Evie’s hand tighter. He heard Coulson shouting something, but his brain couldn’t process what it was. 

The building seemed to shake around them, boxes falling off the shelves lining the room and Max could feel the vibrations in his bones. Was this what an earthquake felt like? Or was it Aunt Daisy? She had used her powers around them before, but it had never felt like this.

They slid low into the bucket seats and watched as Coulson took cover behind the large tool box, weapon aimed at the door. But when the large door swung open a canister with some sort of gas was tossed in and through the fog created by the canister he only managed to get off two shots before he fell to the ground. Evie screamed and the intruders turned their stares on Max and Evie. 

Without thinking he reached over and pressed the button that would activate the machine. He could hear Evie‘s voice yelling, “No, it hasn’t been tested. It’s not safe.”

But it was too late. If it worked they’d be safe, at least for now. Or would it be then? And if it didn’t work...well, he didn’t want to think about what would happen if it didn’t work. But it wouldn’t be worse than being shot. Probably. 

Max felt a sinking feeling in his stomach and then something like ice water running through his veins. He closed his eyes to block out the blinding lights and when he opened them he was sitting in Lola, next to his sister, in what looked to be the middle of a field. He promptly opened the car door and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground. 

Staring at the ground he breathed in the fresh air, thankful to be alive after the terror he’d felt in the last few minutes. The field was almost too peaceful, the gentle breeze blowing tall blades of grass and the wildflowers that spotted the ground. 

Evie gently patted his back and when he felt like he could sit up again he noticed she looked a little green as well. 

“Do you think it worked?” she asked, surveying their surroundings. 

“I think so...but there’s no way to tell from here.” They were in a completely deserted field. Hopefully the same field that would one day become the SHIELD base they had just left. “If it really did work and this is 2004, then that means —“

But before he could finish his thought, his sister interrupted him, “—that means that the old SHIELD Academy should be about 20 miles...that way!”

Max felt considerably calmer now that they had something to do. They needed to figure out if they were really in the past. A past where their parents were alive and well...even if they weren’t their parents yet. While neither one of them actually had a driver's license, Aunt Daisy had been letting them drive —or fly — their whole lives on the condition they didn’t tell their mum. Evie shifted the car into gear and started driving into town. 

When they first had the idea to build the time machine they never thought they’d actually use it. It was more of a theoretical exercise to see if they could make it work. They had dug out their parents’ old notes, which had been carefully locked away, of course. But if anyone was to blame for them actually building a time machine out of a car, it was Uncle Mack. He was the one who had made them watch every 80s movie ever made. He seemed to think they were full of life lessons, or at least a list of things not to do while in the field. Of course, he and Evie were never in the field, so Max didn’t know why they’d had to watch them, but Mack had his reasons and it had been so much fun. The flying Delorean had become a frequent topic of conversation as the twins got older and they had started developing their own theories about time travel — theories built on the experiences of people who had actually traveled through time.

When Mack and Elena had become too busy with their own children to spend every weekend with Max and Evie, the twins had continued to talk about how to make a time machine. Luckily, Coulson allowed them to spend time on the base whenever SHIELD needed FitzSimmons, which afforded ample opportunity for them to experiment. Lola had been stored in the garage at the SHIELD base for years and after Evie had figured out how to improve the thrusters for a smoother ride, Coulson had allowed them free rein with his baby. They knew, of course, that Lola could fly, which was perfect because that meant they didn’t have to add that feature themselves in order to have the perfect vehicle for their purpose. They had enough on their plate with the time travel part. 

They had put some distance between themselves and the field before Evie spoke again. “Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you see who that was? In the lab? It was Dr. Tannen. I’m sure of it.”

“You mean Milton?”

“Max! You know mum said we are not supposed to call adults by their first names. But, yes. Milton.”

“I don’t think the rules of etiquette apply when someone is trying to kill you...has probably already killed people you care about.”

He heard a sniffle from his sister again, and hurried to reassure her. “It’s okay though. If we are in 2004 we can warn them about Milton. Then whatever happened will never happen.” He frowned and turned the words over. How could something that had already happened never happen? “Time travel is really complicated.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Evie interrupt the chemistry lab, just in time to prevent Fitz and Simmons from becoming lab partners.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to @blancasplayground and @agentofship for helping me with this fic!

The rest of the drive passed in relative silence, with Max occasionally pointing out a landmark as they drove. When Evie finally neared the turn that would take them to the old Academy campus, she held her breath. It was all so familiar, and yet so different. She felt like she was seeing everything for the first time. 

“This is it,” her brother said from beside her. 

She slowed the car as the campus came into sight. The gleaming white structures spread across the green lawn, people — students probably — walking in small groups, seemingly deep in discussion, and what looked to be state of the art 2004 security surrounding it all. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” she breathed. “I think we did it!”

Even with everything that had just happened, she still felt a thrill of excitement that her design had worked. Professional pride and all that. 

“Yeah, yeah we did,” agreed Max. “But, keep driving. I doubt they’ll let us in the front door.”

“We should probably stash this car somewhere too. There is no telling what a bunch of SHIELD Academy students would do with this tech,” she said, feeling her lips curl into a small smile. 

Trying to play it cool, they did grow up around super spies after all, Evie drove around the block, and then turned to her brother, completely at a loss for what to do next. 

“Ummm...let’s just find a parking lot or something for now,” he suggested. 

“You want to leave Lola in a parking lot!” she practically shrieked at him. 

“Calm down, Evie. It’s just a suggestion.” He paused, clearly trying to formulate an argument. “Hiding her in plain sight seems safer than trying to find a hiding place big enough for a car. Plus, Lola doesn’t exactly blend in.”

Evie sighed. “Fine. But we’ll need to find a safe place. Maybe some sort of long-term parking?”

“That’s a good idea,” he agreed. “The airport isn’t too far. But then we’ll have to walk back.”

* * *

Satisfied that they had found a safe place to leave Lola, they started the walk back to the Academy. The several miles would take them longer to cover than she liked, but it would give them time to come up with a plan. 

Mum had always said that Evie and Max were twice as smart together than they were separately, and since their parents were also twice as smart when they were together, that meant Max and Evie were four times as smart as either of their parents. They could figure this out. 

“First things first,” she said, after they had both taken some time to sort through the problem. “How are we going to get in?”

“Well, that’s easy,” Max responded immediately. “We’ll just...wait, she didn’t tell you?”

“Who didn’t tell me what?” she asked grumpily. Evie always hated it when Max seemed to know more than she did about something. 

“Mum...she didn’t tell you how they used to sneak on and off campus?”

“No, of course not,” Evie said. “You don’t mean our mum, do you? You know, the one who insists on following all the rules.” Or at least some of the rules, she amended silently. 

“That’s the one. Apparently, there is a section of fencing hidden from the cameras that is actually a hologram and not a solid wall. Some of the engineering students set it up so they’d have a way to get off campus.” 

Evie glanced sideways at her brother. His brown hair, so much like hers, was a little unruly, and the slight breeze was making it stand up a little. Everyone assumed that he was more like mum and she was more like dad, as if their scientific specialties defined their personalities somehow. But he was thoughtful and kind just like their dad was. Evie suspected Max was mum’s favorite. Not that she loved Evie less, but Max had a different bond with mum than she did. She was not surprised that Max had found out this bit of information. 

“Alright...how do we find it then?” she asked. 

“I think we can just follow the fence around the perimeter until we find a spot that doesn’t look like it’s covered by the camera. And then we’re in. It’s once we’re inside that _I’m_ worried about.”

“Oh, that.” Evie waved his concerns off. “Then we just find mum and dad and tell them not to trust Milton. That shouldn’t be too hard. We’ll just have to keep out of sight until we can get them alone.”

“Right...and once they become lab partners today they should be inseparable, so we’ll only have to convince one of them.”

“Probably dad, right?”

Max considered for a moment and then agreed. “Probably. I always got the impression that mum was a little uptight and dad helped her relax. As long as our luck holds, we should be back home in no time.”

Their luck held for the length of time it took to actually get onto campus. But when they tried to get their bearings they were immediately spotted by a teacher, an agent Evie supposed, who must have noticed they looked out of place. 

“What are you doing here?” Evie was surprised to hear a somewhat familiar accent and realized that this must be Agent Weaver. Her parents had talked about the woman often enough. 

“We, ah, uh…” Max sputtered before Evie broke in. 

“We are new students,” she said smoothly. “The agent at the entrance sent us to look for an Agent Weaver?”

“That would be me, but I didn’t think you were starting until next week.” Agent Weaver looked at them expectantly and Evie scrambled to think of something to say. “No matter. We’ll get you sorted and to class as quickly as possible.”

“That’s okay, we should just…” But Evie wasn’t sure what they should just be doing. 

“What are your names?” Agent Weaver asked in a clipped tone. “I’m afraid I don’t have your files ready yet.”

“Max Fi—“

“Phillips!” Evie burst out, not wanting Max to give his actual last name. Max was a little too honest sometimes. “Maxwell Phillips and Evelyn Phillips.”

“Welcome,” Agent Weaver said with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll fit right in here. I’ll escort you to class now and I’ll get your dorm assignments to you after the chemistry lab is finished.”

“Chemistry lab?” asked Max, with a sharp glance towards Evie. The last place they should be was in the same chemistry lab their parents were in.

“Shouldn’t we get settled in first?” Evie hedged, struggling to keep up as they started following Agent Weaver. 

“Nonsense...the sooner you get caught up in your classes the better.”

With the quick pace the agent set, they soon found themselves in front of a building with a sign indicating it housed the chemistry and biology labs, and what felt like seconds later in front of a classroom of students looking at them expectantly. 

After Agent Weaver exchanged a few whispered words with the professor, Max and Evie found themselves settled at a lab table — temporarily, because they had apparently interrupted the assigning of lab partners for the remainder of the semester.

“...just a moment, everyone. I need to make a few quick adjustments to account for our new students,” Dr. Ross intoned.

There was a giggle from a few lab tables over and Evie craned her neck. That _couldn’t be_. But it was. She elbowed Max in the ribs, maybe a little more sharply than was necessary based on the grunt he made, and gestured with her head.

There, just four students separating them, was their mum. Or, Jemma Simmons, rather. She wasn’t quite what Evie had been expecting. She had always assumed her mum was born with a singular focus. But here it looked like she was doing quite a good job at multitasking. Her hair was arranged in curls falling loosely around her shoulders and her attire was rather inappropriate for a chemistry lab. She was sharing the lab table with a rather handsome boy. No, not a boy. Almost certainly a man. A man who looked vaguely familiar, but who was not Leopold James Fitz, the love of her life. And she was...playing footsie? Had the past already been altered as well? Maybe they were too late to fix whatever chain of events led to their present.

Evie shared a look of disgust with her brother, glad that he was equally disturbed by the turn of events. But if mum was here, then dad must be as well. Evie swiveled her head from side to side, trying to find him. As she searched Dr. Ross started calling out pairs of names and the students rearranged themselves with their newly assigned partners. She was so engrossed in her task that she must have missed her own name being called.

“Evie,” Max whispered to her. “Sally Webber.”

“What?”

“Your lab partner is Sally Webber,” he said a little louder.

“Oh!” She looked around and saw a tall blond coming towards her. That must be Sally. Lovely. Nothing for it, she supposed.

“Hullo, Evie. I’m Sally Webber,” she said, holding out a hand, which Evie shook tentatively. Then she held her hand out to Max as well, who was staring at her like he’d never seen a woman before.

“I’m Sally.” When she got no response, she continued, “And you are?”

“Me? Oh, I’m Maxim--Maxw…”

“That’s Max,” Evie said, taking pity on him, but rolling her eyes in his direction nonetheless.

“Jemma Simmons,” Dr. Ross’s voice rang out, louder now to be heard over the students milling around. “Your partner will be…”

Evie held her breath. This was the moment mum and dad would become friends. 

“...Milton Tannen.”

All the breath left her body and she sat down heavily in her seat. Beside her, Max looked every bit as gobsmacked. What had happened? Mum and Milton? Every cell in her body screamed out in protest, but they were silent screams. They were in the middle of a chem lab after all.

“And that leaves…Leopold Fitz and Maxwell Phillips.”

Max gave her hand a squeeze and moved away, searching for their dad. Or Fitz as they needed to call him here. As he navigated around the remainder of the standing students, Evie finally saw him in the back of the room. Everything about him looked familiar, except that mop of curls on his head that the twins had only seen in photos. It was comforting. He seemed to be himself still. A little reserved and quiet...his blue eyes staring daggers at the back of Milton’s head. At least one thing was right in the world.

* * *

For this lab, it turned out they would be working in groups, so Max maneuvered himself close to mum and Milton leaving them no choice but to work as a group. Evie was no slouch at this sort of manipulation either, and soon Evie and Sally joined the group.

Max had noticed dad was hanging back, so he grabbed his arm and pulled him to the table to stand next to mum. He didn’t think proximity would really be enough, they had apparently hated each other after all, but it was a start.

“It looks like there are three parts to the lab,” Evie said, grabbing the instructions before anyone else could look at them. “We could split it up. I can work with Max, Milton can work with Sally...and that would leave Fitz to work with Jemma.”

“Simmons...or Dr. Simmons,” mum corrected with a raised eyebrow. “And I’m fairly certain the purpose of assigning lab partners was so we would actually work with our lab partner.”

Mum smiled at Milton and moved to stand beside him, leaving an empty space between Max and his dad. Or, Fitz. Max exchanged a look with Evie. It was odd to see their parents so out of sync. He never would have wanted to see mum hanging all over Milton, but it was especially hard knowing what he knew now. Mum obviously wouldn’t listen. So dad was their best chance.

They worked through the lab quickly and efficiently. Max and Fitz worked through their portion without talking much, which was just as well since they were both keeping an eye on Milton. 

“That guy is the absolute worst,” Fitz mumbled under his breath, but loud enough for Max to hear clearly.

“Yeah, he is,” Max agreed.

Fitz gave him a strange look and Max realized he had supposedly just met the guy.

“I mean, he seems like he is.”

There was a burst of laughter from mum, and Max recognized it right away as her polite, but not really laughing voice. At least it was good to know that Milton wasn’t actually impressing her. But Fitz’s face had turned dark again, his scowl more pronounced.

As soon as they finished their portion of the lab, Fitz thrust their conclusions at mum — Simmons — and left the room without another word. Max joined the others as they finished up their assigned sections. Conversation flowed back and forth fairly easily among Max, Evie, and Simmons. Which wasn’t really a surprise. They’d spent the last 16 years together...or they would someday.

“So,” Evie started, and Max immediately knew she was back on the offensive, “Fitz must be some kind of genius, huh? You two finished before anyone else…and I know it wasn’t because of you.”

“Oh, haha!” Max shot back. “This is a chemistry lab and _I_ am a chemist.”

Evie glared at him and he realized his mistake. He looked over to see Simmons watching the exchange with interest.

“But yeah, he’s some kind of genius.”

“Hard to know when he doesn’t speak to anyone.” Simmons turned back to Milton and corrected one of his calculations with a smile and a wrinkle of her nose.

It was really terrifying to watch his mum flirt. She was really quite awful at it...and it was just gross.

When it seemed like they were all finished, Max waited for Evie as Milton walked away with their mum, his arm around her shoulders.

“Things are much worse here than I would have thought,” Evie whispered. “What do we do?”

“Mum is obviously a lost cause.”

“Dad didn’t exactly seem approachable either,” his sister pointed out. 

“He is still our best option. And he doesn’t want her to be with Milton either, so that should work in our favor. Let’s go talk to him now.”

“Evelyn Phillips and Maxwell Phillips?” Dr. Weaver’s voice rang out from the front of the classroom. “I have your room assignments.”

Max looked at Evie and they walked towards Dr. Weaver.

“I guess it will have to wait,” she said quietly. “We might as well get settled into our rooms. We might be here awhile.”

“As long as it takes to fix this. We aren’t leaving until they are lab partners again.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Evie settle into life at the Academy, only to realize that getting their parents back together is going to be complicated than they had hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @agentofship for all of her help! <3

It took much longer than she had hoped to get everything straightened out with their room assignments. Finding their rooms had been simple enough, but their lack of luggage had been an unexpected snag. Agent Weaver had been somewhat understandably concerned by the fact, but Evie had done her best to smooth it over, saying that the airport had lost their bags. 

Hopefully they were able to fix this mess quickly so they could get back to the future before she had to come up with another excuse. In the meantime, Agent Weaver had located some extra clothing for them to borrow. Which was how Evie found herself in borrowed clothing having dinner in the cafeteria. 

Dad — Fitz, as Max had reminded her they needed to call their parents by their actual names — was nowhere to be found. But Simmons was seated at a table with Milton, Sally, and a few other cadets she recognized from the chem lab. 

Max hesitated beside her for a second, tray of food in hand, and she gave him a gentle nudge towards the group. If they couldn’t talk to Fitz, then they could learn more about Simmons and Milton. At least that was what she told herself. But really, she knew she selfishly didn’t want Milton anywhere near her mother. They had _trusted_ him and he had betrayed them all. 

But even if all they managed to do was make it harder for Milton to spend time with mum…well, that seemed like time well spent. 

“Hi, Evie,” Sally called, waving at them to come sit down. “I think we can all scoot to make room.”

As the assembled students started shifting, Evie made sure to position herself beside her mum. She would do her best to distract her from Milton. 

“So what is there to do around here?” She knew the answer, but hoped it would start a conversation with the girl sitting next to her. 

“Mostly, we study. It’s the only way to get ahead,” Simmons replied. Well, no surprise there. 

“Oh, come on, Simmons! Don’t be like that,” Sally said from across the table. “There’s a party tomorrow night in the Boiler Room.”

There was a moment of silence where everyone looked at her expectantly and Max gave a nervous laugh. 

Right. She wasn’t supposed to know about that. 

“Why would you have a party in a boiler room?” she asked, hoping she conveyed the appropriate level of confusion. 

“Oh! It’s so much fun. You’ll see,” Simmons replied. 

Sally studied Evie and then turned to Max, who had been very quiet since they’d sat down. “Though you look like you might be a little young to drink.”

“Exactly how old are you?” Simmons asked. The way the question burst out, Evie knew she had been dying to ask it. Mum had always been very proud of being the youngest graduate from the Academy in the history of SHIELD. Luckily for her, Max and Evie wouldn’t be sticking around long enough to graduate.

She was trying to pick a date that would make her and Max just a bit older than Simmons, when she heard Max clear his throat. She was too far away to kick him under the table without risking kicking someone else, so she settled for trying not to cringe as he said they had just turned 16 today. 

“Today?” Simmons asked.

“Happy birthday!” A chorus of birthday wishes echoed around the table before the conversation moved on. Simmons looked a little shocked, but kept a smile on her face. 

Evie focused her efforts on Simmons while Max talked to the group at the other end of the table. Hopefully he wouldn’t make any slip ups while she wasn’t there to cover for him.

Sitting between Sally and Simmons, Evie found herself pulled into a discussion of the relative merits of the boys — men — at the Academy. 

“...and that’s why I think Milton would be a good option for a boyfriend.”

“That’s it?” asked Sally. “He’s symmetrical?”

Evie laughed along with Sally as Simmons darted her eyes down the table towards Milton. 

“He’s interested in me as well,” she replied primly. “I have considered everyone in my classes and Milton is the best option.”

Evie cast around for something to say other than ‘You have to marry Fitz!’ or ‘Milton is a murderer!’ She finally settled on, “Isn’t he a little old for you?”

“He’s only a few years older...and biologically and psychologically females are more mature.” Simmons shrugged. “I’m certain he’ll be a compatible sexual partner.”

Evie couldn’t stop herself from spitting out her water at that declaration, but covered it with a cough. She had to be careful with her next words. It was a delicate balance between pointing Simmons towards Fitz...and losing her trust entirely. So far they seemed to have been accepted by the other cadets. She just needed to make sure she didn’t do anything to change that. 

“So, what about the other guys here?”

“Well…” Simmons leaned closer and began to provide entirely too much detail about their fellow students. Evie really needed to have a talk with her about appropriate boundaries. But, surprisingly, there was one name that she didn’t mention. 

“Wait,” Evie said, glancing from Simmons to Sally. “What about Fitz? He seems...attractive.” Gross, gross, gross. She could hardly force the word out about her own father, but she knew mum thought he was very handsome.

“Oh, don’t get her started on him,” a voice called from across the table. Apparently their conversation hadn’t been as private as she’d thought. 

Simmons pressed her lips into a thin line. “Yes. Well, I _thought_ he would be the best choice. We’re the same age. He’s quite handsome and obviously the smartest person here — after me of course. And he’s Scottish..so we have quite a bit in common.”

Her voice had taken on a slightly dreamy quality, even though her words remained as clinical as before. Good to know that hadn’t changed. 

“So, wh— “

“He hates me!” Her voice fell flat. “I’ve tried to talk to him, but he just ignores me. So there isn’t any point.”

And just like that the conversation moved on to which classes they needed to study for that night.

* * *

They spent the rest of the evening with Simmons and her friends. It was a lot more fun than Max had thought it would be. They were on a mission here, but in some ways it also felt like an opportunity to just be kids. He’d never had a group of friends to study with, always being so much younger than the other students. Except for Evie of course. But she was his sister so she didn’t count. 

Luckily their parents really were the smartest people to ever come through the Academy, so Max felt sufficiently prepared for the coursework. Not that it mattered. But it was still nice to be accepted and not shunned when he used his brain. Not that his parents had ever made him feel anything other than loved. But it was just different knowing that mum still appreciated his intellect, even when she didn’t know she was his mum.

A knock sounded at his door. The rhythm of the knock meant it could only be one person. Evie. 

“This is a complete disaster!” She hissed the words as soon as the door closed behind her. 

“I know —“

“Mum is totally boy-crazy...caught up in some sort of teenage, hormone-induced insanity!”

“I know —“

“And dad!”

“I know —“

“But this place is amazing.”

Max finally just accepted that he wasn’t going to be able to finish a thought until Evie got everything out of her system, so he settled back on the bed as she grabbed the desk chair. 

“What are we going to do?”

When he didn’t answer she raised her eyebrows at him and he made a face back. 

“Are you done? I wasn’t sure you needed me in this conversation.”

“Sorry...it’s just a bit much.”

“I know.” He waited for her to interrupt and when she didn’t, he continued, “It's really hard to listen to Simmons talk like that.”

A look of surprise flashed over Evie’s face. 

“What? Are you okay with her fawning all over _Milton_?”

“No, of course not!” A grin spread over her face. “It’s just weird to hear you call mum by her last name.”

“Oh, shut up.” He tossed a pillow at her and she dodged out of the way before sticking out her tongue at him. “I did find out something useful though.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes. Really. It turns out dad’s room is only two doors down. So I figured I’d drop by in the morning. Pretend I had a question about the chem lab. He’ll probably want to help right?”

“Right.” She thought for a moment. “He won’t want to have a completely incompetent lab partner.”

“Hey!”

“I’m just kidding. Though it would be much better if mum and dad had gotten paired up like they were supposed to.”

“Agreed. But since they didn’t…”

“Let’s figure out how to get them back together.”

Evie looked nervous, which made him nervous.

“What? What is it?”

“Well, it’s just that the moment they became lab partners is what started a lifetime of them being together. If they don’t become friends, they won’t fall in love. And if they don’t fall in love and get married, then —“

“—we won’t be born.” The enormity of the situation hit him at that moment. It was one thing that Milton had betrayed them in their future. But now because of their meddling it was possible that the sequence of events that led to Max and Evie’s existence might never happen. “Fuck.”

“Max! Watch your language. Mum says —“

“I think she’d understand.” He rolled his eyes at his sister. Though it was sort of nice that she was hanging on to the little things. It made it easier to focus. “In fact, I can go ask her right now if she thinks cursing is alright.”

Evie stuck out her tongue at him again and they both started laughing. It was really, really good that they were here together. They could fix this.

* * *

Max was almost certain they couldn’t fix this. 

Fitz had given him a strange look upon seeing Max at his door, but had let it swing open anyway. Max sat down in the desk chair while Fitz turned his attention back to the tablet in his hands. 

Fitz had a look of complete concentration on his face — a look Max knew well — and it was comforting in a way. Seeing his father as a sixteen-year-old boy had been disconcerting, though in a different way than it had been with their mum. He wasn’t the confident man who had helped Max ask the right questions his entire life. He was obviously brilliant, but also had a strange mix of cockiness and uncertainty in his interactions. 

Fitz reached one hand up to rub the back of his neck as the other tapped against the tablet’s screen with a motion of finality. 

“And...done. Now, what do you need?”

Max was caught off guard by the question. He had been imagining a much smoother segue into what he needed to say. But now he was being fixed with a stare that didn’t even hold a hint of the openness he was used to. 

“Well…so, I’m from the future?” It came off sounding like a question and Max cleared his throat, speaking quickly before Fitz could react. “The thing is, something bad happened and we need to —“

“Time doesn’t work like that,” Fitz interrupted. “You can’t change the future. Whatever is going to happen is what’s going to happen. It’s space —“

“—Spacetime, I know. But what if you could? What if you could stop something terrible from happening?”

Max held his breath, waiting for Fitz to react. 

“Nice try. But even if you were from the future — which you aren’t — I wouldn’t try to change things. This isn’t my first day at the Academy. I’m not going to fall for your prank.” Fitz paced back and forth. “Did Milton put you up to this?”

The look on Fitz’s face was one of anger...and betrayal. That wasn’t a look Max wanted to see. 

“Milton? Why would he —“ Max was ready to deny it, but then decided it might be the perfect ploy to keep Fitz suspicious of Milton. “Yeah...Milton. He put me up to it.”

“Look, Max. You seem nice enough. So you should know that Milton is an idiot. He probably wouldn’t be passing his classes if it wasn’t for Simmons. And...and he has a cabbage head!”

“Right…” Well, he hadn’t been thrown out of the room, so that was something. “Umm...since we are going to be lab partners, did you want to hang out sometime? Or study?”

Fitz seemed to think about it, but then answered, “Yeah, I suppose we could study together. I actually have some questions on a project I’m working on. Could use a chemist’s help.”

“I can help!” Max offered, maybe a bit too eagerly if Fitz’s surprised expression was anything to go by. “I mean, yeah. Why don’t we study tonight after classes? And if we have time I can help.”

Things had not gone as planned. As Max hurried to his first class of the day, studying the small schedule Agent Weaver had given him, he tried to figure out what to tell Evie. She would not be pleased. But at least he had plans to study with Fitz later. Maybe somehow he’d figure out how to convince Fitz he was telling the truth.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can find me on tumblr @LibbyWeasley


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